1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connecting structure of a connector and a terminal fitting used for a connection of wire harnesses and the like arranged in a vehicle, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a conventional connecting structure of a connector and a terminal fitting that is electrically coupled within the connector, the one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-014304 is known.
Explaining the outline thereof, the connector is provided with a plurality of bored-through terminal housing cavities inside a box-shaped connector housing, and at a given position in the axis direction inside each of the terminal housing cavities, is provided with a lance portion that is resiliently deformable to go in and out.
The terminal fitting is integrally formed by press forming, and includes a main body that is formed in a substantially boxed shape, and a barrel portion that is integrally connected to one end portion of the main body in the longitudinal direction and capable of making the crimping connection to the end of an electrical wire. The main body includes a bottom wall that extends from the front to the rear, a pair of sidewalls, a ceiling wall, and an outer wall that is overlapped with the outside of the ceiling wall.
At substantially the center of a rear-end edge portion in the front portion of the outer wall along the width direction, a latching protrusion that is engageable with the lance portion is formed to bulge outward.
The latching protrusion is formed in a substantially pyramid shape with the front end as a vertex, and includes a pyramid portion that is formed in a tapered shape for which the width dimension and height dimension decrease toward the front end side and composed of three inclined surfaces, and an angular cylindrical portion for which the width dimension and height dimension are constant and composed of three outer surfaces. This latching protrusion is formed in a shape bulging outward from a virtual triangular pyramid formed by connecting the vertex at the front end, a pair of protruding base ends at the rear end edge, and a protruding distal end toward outside.
Consequently, the internal volume of the latching protrusion is increased as compared with that of the virtual triangular pyramid, and thus at the time of engaging with the lance portion, the amount of a retaining portion of the lance portion that is allowed to go into the inner side of the latching protrusion is increased. Hence, because the terminal fitting is pulled toward the rear while the retaining portion is biting into the latching protrusion, the retaining force of the terminal fitting is increased.
In the conventional technology, however, to form the latching protrusion, the end portion of the outer wall is extended, and after forming the latching protrusion of a bulging shape on the extended portion by press forming or the like, the extended portion is formed to bend downward to fold back. Consequently, the forming operation of the latching protrusion is cumbersome, leading to a decrease in the efficiency of the forming operation and a sharp rise in forming cost.